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Tariffs have become one of the most unpredictable variables in U.S. energy project development. Duties on imported steel, solar cells, batteries and other equipment have shifted repeatedly over the past several years, often with little advance warning, and there is every reason to expect that volatility to continue as trade policy moves from one administration and one negotiation to the next. That volatility lands squarely in the middle of build-transfer agreements (“BTAs”), a structure widely used across the renewable and conventional power sectors. In a typical BTA, a developer builds a project, and once the project reaches mechanical or substantial completion, the developer sells it to a buyer, who then owns and operates the asset going forward (and, in the case of a renewable project, gets the benefit of the associated tax credits). Because the BTA is signed well before the project is built, the parties are effectively agreeing on a price today for equipment that will be procured, and tariffs that will be assessed, months or years down the road. That timing gap creates a real tension. Sellers need enough price protection to procure equipment without absorbing open-ended tariff risk on a fixed-price contract. Buyers need enough cost certainty to underwrite the transaction, secure financing and, in the case of regulated utilities, justify the purchase price to regulators. Getting the balance right requires thinking carefully, up front, about how tariff risk is defined, allocated and capped.

The Government's announcement of Great British Grid (GBG) is the latest development in a series of reforms aimed at increasing the pace of electricity network delivery across Great Britain. The new body, which will sit within Great British Energy, is intended to invest alongside private capital in network infrastructure and support the delivery of the grid upgrades required to accommodate increasing demand and connect new sources of generation and storage. The announcement arrives alongside a broader package of reforms, including continued work on connections reform, changes to the management of the connections queue, proposals to expand self-build connections and a continued emphasis on competition in the delivery of transmission infrastructure. Viewed in that context, GBG may be best understood not as a standalone initiative, but as part of a wider effort to modernise the way network infrastructure is planned, financed and delivered.

Modern slavery compliance is increasingly moving from a reporting exercise to a significant legal, financial, and reputational risk for organisations. Proposed reforms would introduce mandatory reporting requirements on six prescribed areas, tougher enforcement measures, and substantial financial penalties for non-compliance.

From 1 October 2026 (today), most employment tribunal claims must be brought within six months, up from three months. The new limit applies where the relevant act, omission or effective date of termination (EDT) falls on or after 1 October 2026. The EDT is the date employment actually ends. Earlier claims remain subject to the three-month limit. For ongoing conduct, time runs from the last act in the series.